Waterman are providing structural engineering design services covering the demolition of a 6 storey 1950’s block and replacement on the site with a new 100,000ft2 secondary school measuring 100m x 30m on plan, over 3 storeys for 1150 pupils along with an upgrade of a sports hall, gym and dance halls in separate buildings on the site.

Waterman developed a modularised grid superblock concept for the school layout that provided 7.2m deep classrooms meeting the latest EFA sizing requirements that were appropriate for natural ventilation and MVHR for rooms such as labs or where there was high solar gain.

The preferred framing system was a concrete flat slab structure, providing thermal mass for energy efficiency and good flexibility for future re-allocation of classrooms to provide future agility.

Low carbon concrete was incorporated in to the design to increase the sustainability profile.

SUDS provisions included attenuation tanks and hydro takes to mitigate the effects of future climate change and increased rainfall intensity.

Waterman designed earthworks using demolition arisings that were reused in significant landscaping features to minimise waste materials from site.

Ground conditions were unsuitable for shallow pad foundations, so Waterman worked with the contractor to implement a novel Continuous Helical Displacement (CHD) piling system that provided short concrete screw piles with skin friction over double that of a conventional straight shafted bored piling system. Waste from pile arisings was minimal. Over 300 piles were installed in a 2 week window to a high level of accuracy.